Burkina Faso / Digital Communications: Central region equips journalists

Participants benefited from a series of practical and theoretical workshops, under the expertise of digital communications trainer Éric Demouemba. The training helped strengthen journalists’ abilities to manage digital platforms and produce content adapted to different social networks.

Éric Demouemba believes that social media are part of digital communication tools. He defines them as a group of online platforms that create social interactions between multiple users. He adds that social networks constitute the most important family of social media. However, Mr. Demouemba emphasizes that it is very important to distinguish between the two. Because social media is just a sub-point of social media.

Therefore, we reviewed popular social networks such as Facebook, Whatsapp, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Facebook

Facebook, the world’s most widely used social network, was one of the topics of the training. Journalists have learned to use Facebook’s advanced features to maximize audience engagement. The importance of creating and protecting professional pages, managing communities to target specific groups of people was emphasized. Content production techniques, which are essential to attract attention in often saturated news feeds, were also discussed.

WhatsApp

Although primarily used for personal messaging, WhatsApp has become an essential tool for journalists. The training focused on how to use the app to create newsgroups, share real-time updates, and establish direct communication with audiences. Participants were also made aware of the security and confidentiality issues of the platform.

X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok

X, formerly known as Twitter, remains a powerful tool for rapid information dissemination and real-time engagement. Journalists explore best practices for using hashtags, writing interesting tweets, and managing threads to drive meaningful interactions in order to stay active and responsive on this evolving platform.

TikTok, a social network focused on short videos, has been hailed as an ideal platform for journalists to reach young audiences. The conference also stressed the importance of video creativity and authenticity, as well as the importance of fast editing techniques to keep users’ attention.

YouTube and LinkedIn

YouTube is hailed as an essential tool for creating and distributing long-form video content. Journalists explored techniques for producing informative and engaging videos, as well as strategies for increasing subscriptions and watch time. The training also focused on the selection of titles, descriptions, and tags to maximize a video’s visibility.

LinkedIn is often viewed as a professional social network and we analyze it from the perspective of institutional communication. Journalists are trained to optimize their profiles to attract professional collaborations and use LinkedIn to publish feature articles, participate in expert discussions and expand their network of contacts.

Well-equipped participants

One of the concepts that Yasmina Ouili retained during this conference was that digital communication has a marketing nature, since it allows the presentation of articles and products through social networks in order to be able to sell them through these platforms.

“Digital is digital: the Internet and social networks. But digital communication is the application of digital technologies in the field of communication. We have seen that the advent of digital technologies has overturned traditional communication models. Communication needs to constantly update itself so as not to be out of touch with what is happening. Digital communication done well guarantees the potential for interaction. This tool allows you to be seen virtually around the world, giving you a larger audience at a flexible price,” the participant shared at the end of the session.

Sponsor satisfaction

At the closing ceremony, the Centre’s Regional Director of Communication and Media, Noëlle Octavie Neya/Ouédraogo, expressed satisfaction with the progress of the training and stressed the importance of digital tools for journalists, given the centrality of social networks in the dissemination of information.

“This training course comes at the right time, as it meets a real need for our journalists to adapt to the demands of the digital world. Today, the effective use of social networks is essential to reach a large audience and ensure high-quality communication,” said Noëlle Octavie Neya.

The participants also expressed their gratitude to the Regional Directorate of Communications and Media (DRCM) for providing this opportunity. They said that this training not only familiarized them with new technologies, but also gave them skills to enhance their professionalism and improve the quality of their work.

This initiative of the Center DRCM is part of the dynamics of strengthening the capacity of media players to adapt them to digital challenges. Well-trained journalists are now better able to use social networks strategically to provide quality information to the public.

Hamid Nanema

Lefaso.com